By the 2010s, use of the type was gradually declining as increasing numbers of newer BAE Systems Hawks, built under license by HAL, have been introduced to IAF service.

[1] HAL chose to adopt the British-sourced Rolls-Royce Viper 11 turbojet engine, capable of generating up to 2,500 lbf (11,000 N) of thrust, to serve as its powerplant.

[2] During the 1970s, work was undertaken by HAL on an uprated version of the aircraft; it was instead powered by the Bristol Siddeley Orpheus turbojet engine, capable of generating a maximum thrust of 4,200 lbf (19,000 N).

[7][8] Another jet trainer, the British-designed BAE Systems Hawk, has been license-manufactured by HAL to supplement and gradually replace the IAF's aging Kiran fleet since 2007.

[12][13] During 2010, an urgent request for proposals was issued, seeking a rapid replacement for the HPT-32 and to enable the Kiran fleet to resume normal operations; the Pilatus PC-7 was subsequently selected for this role.

[16] On 3 March 2010, a Kiran Mk II of the Sagar Pawan aerobatic team crashed into a building in Hyderabad during the Indian Aviation 2010 air show, killing both crewmembers and injuring four civilians on the ground.

[20] During December 2018, India donated six Kirans to neighbouring Myanmar, these aircraft were dispatched along with a team of specialists to train both pilots and ground crew in their operation.

[21] Publication Times Now has speculated that this gift was an intentional politically-charged decision, intended to strengthen military ties between the two countries as well as to a means to counterbalancing the growing influence of China over the region.